Scrutable

Trump has full confidence in Hesgeth: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 36770.html

Just this.

Oh gawd... White House is pushing the COVID "Lab Leak" theory on its official website...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-tru ... -covid-19/

That title bar with Trump walking through the word Lab Leak is absurd.

US MAGA politics is absurd. US politics is now an entertainment show - a la "The Apprentice". All staged managed BS for the fans of "the show".

Axios reporting that Trump has been handed a string of defeats in the US courts recently against a number of executive orders... of course what those defeats actually translate to hasn't been determined because Trump seems to not give a f.ck what the courts say, and recalling an article title I saw recently "The Supreme Court has no Army" - i.e. what is the enforcement mechanism going to be? A strongly worded letter alongside a hope Trump falls in line? Laughable.

TopBadger wrote: Fri Apr 25, 2025 9:33 am US MAGA politics is absurd. US politics is now an entertainment show - a la "The Apprentice". All staged managed BS for the fans of "the show".

Axios reporting that Trump has been handed a string of defeats in the US courts recently against a number of executive orders... of course what those defeats actually translate to hasn't been determined because Trump seems to not give a f.ck what the courts say, and recalling an article title I saw recently "The Supreme Court has no Army" - i.e. what is the enforcement mechanism going to be? A strongly worded letter alongside a hope Trump falls in line? Laughable.

I asked my friend that recently. They have no answer.

Possibly the US Marshals, but then we're effectively into civil war if other branches of the military pick different sides.

TopBadger wrote: Fri Apr 25, 2025 9:33 am Axios reporting that Trump has been handed a string of defeats in the US courts recently against a number of executive orders... of course what those defeats actually translate to hasn't been determined because Trump seems to not give a f.ck what the courts say, and recalling an article title I saw recently "The Supreme Court has no Army" - i.e. what is the enforcement mechanism going to be? A strongly worded letter alongside a hope Trump falls in line? Laughable.

Back in Feb, I said, "Constitutional crisis, what constitutional crisis, show me the evidence of that."

Now we quite clearly see Trump laughing at the courts, even a 9-0 decision against him by a Supreme Court that is overwhelmingly (very) conservative, and several are his appointees. As you say, what enforcement does the court have against the Executive that just won't comply with those court orders? We've never really been here before. This is clearly a constitutional crisis.

Though actually I did think of an amusing precedent for the dubious deportation, which is the deportation of Carlos Marcello in 1961, when JFK was president and RFK was AG. Marcello, it is now acknowledged, was a major organised criminal in the Italian-American mafia, but there was insufficient evidence at the time to demonstrate that and lock him up for that at the time.

Marcello was born in Tunis to Sicilian parents, under the name Calogero Minacore. But for some reason he acquired a fake Guatemalan birth certificate, etc, under this semi-Spanish looking name, and had presented that as his credentials when moving to live in the US. The US eventually twigged this and arrested him for fraud, ie the false documents. They then deported him ... to Guatemala, despite the complaint against him being essentially that he wasn't Guatemalan. It seems they did a deal with the Guatemalans to lock him up there. But Guatemala in 1961 wasn't El Salvador in 2025, and 2 months later he was somehow back in the US, and successfully fought further attempts to deport him again.

Rümeysa Öztürk was grabbed off the street in my town one month ago.

https://m.xkcd.com/3081/

https://x.com/OAlexanderDK/status/1915712957897490876

In today's wild news:

The son of a CIA Deputy Director was recently killed fighting in Ukraine...

...for the Russian military.

Link below:

ICE has deported several children who were US citizens, one who was were undergoing cancer treatment.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 235325778/

bjn wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:05 pm ICE has deported several children who were US citizens, one who was were undergoing cancer treatment.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 235325778/

Their position on this is that they didn't deport US children, they deported their non-US citizen parents, and the kids went with the parents (by choice or parental decision, rather than forcibly by the state). The children are able to return (though who looks after them is not clear).

This would appear to be the mess that birthright citizenship creates... get into a country illegally, then drop a sprog and hope the kids citizenship protects you as the parent.

I can well understand a view that birthright citizenship is no longer something that should be in the constitution, just as the right to bear arms should no longer be in there, these were rules necessary for an older time.

TopBadger wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:56 am

bjn wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:05 pm ICE has deported several children who were US citizens, one who was were undergoing cancer treatment.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 235325778/

Their position on this is that they didn't deport US children, they deported their non-US citizen parents, and the kids went with the parents (by choice or parental decision, rather than forcibly by the state). The children are able to return (though who looks after them is not clear).

This would appear to be the mess that birthright citizenship creates... get into a country illegally, then drop a sprog and hope the kids citizenship protects you as the parent.

I can well understand a view that birthright citizenship is no longer something that should be in the constitution, just as the right to bear arms should no longer be in there, these were rules necessary for an older time.

Trump shows why the 14th Amendment is so important and why birthright citizenship is vital for America's particular circumstances.

For example native Americans.

jimbob wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 11:44 am Trump shows why the 14th Amendment is so important and why birthright citizenship is vital for America's particular circumstances.

For example native Americans.

Not sure I follow... some form of exposition would be helpful.

TopBadger wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 1:19 pm

jimbob wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 11:44 am Trump shows why the 14th Amendment is so important and why birthright citizenship is vital for America's particular circumstances.

For example native Americans.

Not sure I follow... some form of exposition would be helpful.

There have been news stories about Native Americans being considered immigrants by ICE agents. With Trump attacking civil liberties, especially for minorities it's important to protect existing non white citizens that birthright citizenship is retained, as that doesn't open a potential line of attack.

TopBadger wrote: Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:56 am

bjn wrote: Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:05 pm ICE has deported several children who were US citizens, one who was were undergoing cancer treatment.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 235325778/

Their position on this is that they didn't deport US children, they deported their non-US citizen parents, and the kids went with the parents (by choice or parental decision, rather than forcibly by the state). The children are able to return (though who looks after them is not clear).

Except they were in fact trafficked forcibly by the state, without any due process.

Apparently Trump answers his personal cell phone to unknown callers:

https://bsky.app/profile/amandalitman.b ... uperkbmk2p

So.. . we joked about Trump becoming Pope...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c3r80jdgqqqo

Tessa K wrote: Thu May 01, 2025 9:26 am So.. . we joked about Trump becoming Pope...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c3r80jdgqqqo

I haven't seen any evidence that Trump was joking, and a large number of his sycophants took him seriously enough to debase themselves in public, saying what a good Pope he would be.

But he would be a good Pope.

He's corrupt and unprincipled, enjoys exploiting the gullible. He'd think up ways to make even more money.

Plus he's a rapist. He's one of them. OK, most Cardinals would be disgusted he rapes females, instead of raping males like normal. Worse, he rapes adult females, pretty perverted in the eyes if the priesthood.

lpm wrote: Thu May 01, 2025 12:16 pm But he would be a good Pope.

He's corrupt and unprincipled, enjoys exploiting the gullible. He'd think up ways to make even more money.

Plus he's a rapist. He's one of them. OK, most Cardinals would be disgusted he rapes females, instead of raping males like normal. Worse, he rapes adult females, pretty perverted in the eyes if the priesthood.

I wrote a blog ages ago about how abuse of women by priests is even more prevalent but no one talks about it because women should be able to look after themselves

I remember reading your blog and thinking that it was extremely well argued.

LydiaGwilt wrote: Fri May 02, 2025 7:42 am I remember reading your blog and thinking that it was extremely well argued.

Thank you.

Alcatraz will be reopened as a prison, because a building that hasn't been used as a prison for 60 years is the best place to keep violent, repeat offenders away from the rest of the population. Trump needs to stop watching late night movies.

It's going to create a vivid experience for the tourists.

Chris Preston wrote: Mon May 05, 2025 9:48 am Alcatraz will be reopened as a prison, because a building that hasn't been used as a prison for 60 years is the best place to keep violent, repeat offenders away from the rest of the population. Trump needs to stop watching late night movies.

He's working on that, by placing tariffs on movies.